Wall structure



Aug. 4, 1964 E. L. EBERHARDT WALL STRUCTURE Original Filed Dec. 22. 1961 INlfENTOR. 1520mm L Eezkmkor United States Patent 3,142,938 WALL STRUCTURE Elwood L. Eberhardt, 275 Leo.Ave., San Jose, Calif. Continuation of application Ser. No. 161,528, Dec. 22, 1961. This application Oct. 11, 1963, Ser. No. 316,205 4 Claims. (Cl. 50-344) This invention relates in general to means for securing a wall facing to an upright element.

It is an object of this invention to provide means for aifixing a brick, stone or tile facing to a supporting structure.

It is a further object of this invention to provide means for facilitating the application of brick, stone or tile facing to a vetrical surface.

Further objects and advantages of this invention, if not specifically set forth, will become apparent during the course of the description which follows:

This application is a continuation of my application Serial No. 161,528, filed December 22, 1961, for Wall Structure and now abandoned.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a wall having a tile facing thereon;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view taken through line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, perspective fragmentary view with tilework and grouting broken away so as to show the manner of assembly of the overlying elements constituting the entire structure;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing one of the clips or brackets which may be secured to a supporting gridwork to provide support for the slabs of facing material; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view from the rear of one of the facing elements.

Generally, this invention comprises a facing structure for a building comprising upright wall-supporting means such as a plurality of spaced studs, a gridwork formed of spaced horizontal and vertical rods, means for securing the gridwork in an upright position to the wall-supporting means, a plurality of clips or brackets secured to the gridwork along various of the horizontal rods, each of the brackets being constructed of two legs joined together at a nose or apex, each of the legs being bent at a point between the ends thereof and the said apex to form an angle of between 80 and 30, each of the brackets resting over and being supported by one of the gridwork horizontal elements at points where the legs are bent, the lowermost ends of the legs of each bracket resting against the front of the next lower horizontal grid element whereby to cantilever said apex of said clip outwardly away from the gridwork, and a plurality of facing slabs each having at least two pins secured there in normal to one face thereof, each of the pins resting over and upon one of the said clips at the apex thereof and beneath the said horizontal rod supporting said clip.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like characters refer to like parts throughout, there is shown in FIG. 1 a fragment of an exterior wall, generally A, composed of individual bricks, tiles or stones B and C. The space between the bricks, tiles or stones is filled, to some extent, with grout 10. Each of these facing slabs is preferably provided with a pair of recesses 11 in the back thereof, as shown in phantom view in FIG. 1 and seen more clearly in FIGS. 2 and 5. Molded into the slabs and emerging therefrom at the centermost points of each of the recesses 11 are the pins 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, each pin rests on top of the apex of the bracket 13, the bracket being formed with two legs branching out from the apex, each of the legs being bent at a point intermediate the free end thereof and the apex to an angle less than 90 and preferably between and 30, as shown in FIG. 4. At the point of the aforementioned bend, each leg rests upon one of the horizontal rod elements constituting a portion of the gridwork 14 made up of horizontal and vertical rod elements secured together at the point of intersection thereof. Conveniently, the aforementioned rod structure is in the nature of a wire mesh having relatively wide spaces between each of the horizontal and vertical rod or wire elements. The lowermost ends of the legs of the brackets 13 pass over and in front of a horizontal rod element positioned directly below that supporting the clip at the bends therein, as shown in FIG. 4. Preferably, as best seen in FIG. 2, the clip, when viewed from one side, is more or less in the form of a Z, with the lowermost base portion thereof bent silghtly upwardly so that the bracket may be clipped onto two vertically spaced horizontal rod elements and securely held thereon. The terminal leg portions of the bracket may be bent downwardly at the ends thereof so that a vertical portion is provided, which may rest directly against planar element 15 which may be paper-covered line wire, gypsum lap board, or plasterboard so as to provide additional stability for the bracket 13. The vertical wall board 15 is secured to stud 16 and the Wire mesh 14 is held spaced therefrom, as seen in FIG. 2, by means of staples 17, having a cylindrical spacer element thereon between the gridwork 14 and the wall board 15. Conventional furring nails may be used instead of the staples 17, provided the nails are secured to the wire mesh in some fashion. The space between the wall board 15'and the facing slabs B is filled with mortar which provides permanent support for the facing slabs.

The recesses shown in the back of the facing slabs are preferred since this permits the mortar better to grip and secure the facing slabs, as shown in FIG. 2.

The structure shown above facilitates application of facing tile, stone and the like by providing means for supporting the slabs in position until the mortar becomes bonded to the slabs. The use of the combination of the gridwork and cantilevered bracket assures proper positioning of each of the facing slabs, thus facilitating the application of such slabs to a building by one having little or no experience with masonry work.

It will also be understood that a convenient Way of assuring that the overall front surface of the faced building is in a single plane is to force each of the facing slabs into the mortar to the point there the apex or nose of the bracket strikes the inner surface of the facing slab. The position of each bracket nose or apex also provides a measure of the correct strike-01f surface for the grout and because the position of the apex is telegraphed through the grout, it is easy to determine where the facing units should be positioned. Further the structure and procedue described produce a recessed joint between facing members, as particularly seen in FIG. 2, thus providing a particularly expeditious method of obtaining this effect. A final advantage flows from the relatively light weight of the erected structure since it permits elimination of the conventional footings.

Obviously, many modifications and variations of the invention hereinabove set forth may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore only such limitations should be imposed as are indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A facing structure for a building comprising:

(a) upright wall support means;

(b) a gridwork having spaced horizontal and vertical rods;

() means for securing said gridwork in an upright position to said wall-supporting means;

(d) a plurality of brackets secured to said gridwork, each of said brackets having two legs joined together at an apex, each of said legs being bent at a point intermediate the end thereof and the said apex to form an angle of less than 90", each of said brackets being supported by one of said gridwork horizontal rods at points where said legs are bent, the lowermost ends of said legs resting against the front of a horizontal rod directly beneath the first-mentioned horizontal rod whereby to cantilever said apex of said bracket outwardly and away from said gridwork;

(e) and a plurality of facing slabs each having at least two pins secured therein normal to one plane thereof, each of said pins resting over and upon one of said brackets at the apex thereof and beneath the said horizontal rod supporting said bracket.

2. A facing structure for a building comprising:

(a) upright wall support means;

(12) gridwork having spaced horizontal and vertical rods;

(0) means for securing said gridwork in an upright position to said wall-supporting means;

(d) a plurality of brackets secured to said gridwork, each of said brackets having two legs joined together at an apex, each of said legs being bent at a point intermediate the end thereof and the said apex to form an angle of less than 90, each of said brackets being supported by one of said gridwork horizontal rods at points where said legs are bent, the lowermost ends of said legs resting against the front of a horizontal rod directly beneath the first-mentioned horizontal rod whereby to cantilever said apex of said bracket outwardly and away from said gridwork, the lowermost ends of the legs of each of the said brackets being bent at an angle at least 90 thereto whereby to provide a bracket which is generally Z- shaped;

(e) and a plurality of facing slabs each having at least two pins secured therein normal to one plane thereof, each of said pins resting over and upon one of said brackets at the apex thereof and beneath the said horizontal rod supporting said bracket.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said gridwork having spaced horizontal and vertical rods is spaced from a sheet of vertical wallboard material and secured in a spaced relationship thereto, the space between the said Wallboard material and the said facing slabs being filled with mortar.

4. A facing structure for a building comprising (a) upright wall support means;

(b) a gridwork means having spaced horizontal and vertical rods;

(c) means for securing said gridwork in an upright position to said wall-supporting means in spaced apart relation therein;

(d) said gridwork means including brackets having leg means extending outwardly from one of said gridwork horizontal rods;

(e) and a plurality of facing slabs each having at least two pins thereon normal to one plane thereof, each of said pins projecting through said gridwork means between an adjacent pair of said horizontal rods and an adjacent pair of said vertical rods, said brackets engaging said slabs to space them from said wall support means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A FACING STRUCTURE FOR A BUILDING COMPRISING: (A) UPRIGHT WALL SUPPORT MEANS; (B) A GRIDWORK HAVING SPACED HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL RODS; (C) MEANS FOR SECURING SAID GRIDWORK IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION TO SAID WALL-SUPPORTING MEANS; (D) A PLURALITY OF BRACKETS SECURED TO SAID GRIDWORK, EACH OF SAID BRACKETS HAVING TWO LEGS JOINED TOGETHER AT AN APEX, EACH OF SAID LEGS BEING BENT AT A POINT INTERMEDIATE THE END THEREOF AND THE SAID APEX TO FORM AN ANGLE OF LESS THAN 90*, EACH OF SAID BRACKETS BEING SUPPORTED BY ONE OF SAID GRIDWORK HORIZONTAL RODS AT POINTS WHERE SAID LEGS ARE BENT, THE LOWERMOST ENDS OF SAID LEGS RESTING AGAINST THE FRONT OF A HORIZONTAL ROD DIRECTLY BENEATH THE FIRST-MENTIONED HORIZONTAL ROD WHEREBY TO CANTILEVER SAID APEX OF SAID BRACKET OUTWARDLY AND AWAY FROM SAID GRIDWORK; (E) AND A PLURALITY OF FACING SLABS EACH HAVING AT LEAST TWO PINS SECURED THEREIN NORMAL TO ONE PLANE THEREOF, EACH OF SAID PINS RESTING OVER AND UPON ONE OF SAID BRACKETS AT THE APEX THEREOF AND BENEATH THE SAID HORIZONTAL ROD SUPPORTING SAID BRACKET. 